A Fairy Tale Promise of Protection
by Airka Yumeko
Summary: After the usual antics at Fairy Tail Lucy decides to head out on a job with Natsu. The job seems simple but something unexpected happens. Will Lucy and Natsu be able to handle this unforeseen event, or will the promise of protection between the two become nothing more than a fairy tale? (NaLu [Natsu x Lucy]), directly after Infinity Clock Arc, T for violence).
1. Chapter 1: A Job in Hani

**Hey there, name's Airka. So this is my first fanfic, be nice. I don't really like those stories that are just one-shots so true to my beliefs I'm making this several chapters. I hope everyone likes it. Not much happens this chapter but I'll pick it up soon. I'm going to try a schedule of a chapter a week it may be more or less often depending.**

**Kay' ^.^**

* * *

The guild was particular quite today. Lucy looked around, without the massive fights damaging the building the place didn't quite seem the same. Still she supposed it was good that nobody was fighting today.

"Luuuuucy" A voice called out. Lucy turned around to see Natsu headed towards her waving around what looked like a job request. "Ne, Lucy you have to pay rent soon right? Let's go on a job." Lucy skimmed over the paper. _Collect some herbs from Hani Forest_, the title read, _WARNING: various bandits with bounties_, it continued, _rewards will also be given for any bounties of defeated bandits_, seemed simple enough.

"Sure Natsu, just give me a bit, I haven't had lunch." Natsu handed the paper to Mira and hopped on the seat next to Lucy twirling around on the spinning chair. Natsu looked at the guild's ceiling thinking about nothing particular. He was a bit surprised when a hand stopped him from twirling. "Could you stay still for five minutes?" Lucy said looking at him with a half-smile. Natsu got a bit embarrassed. Did he look childish? What did he care?

Natsu caught a glance of Gray standing half-naked in the middle of the guild sitting at a table blabbering to Cana about who knows what. "Put some clothes on you icy perv!" Natsu yelled across the room.

"Ya got something to say you flame freak!" Gray responded.

"You bet I do, ya stripper!" Natsu retorted pressing his forehead against Gray's in a bull-like manner. Flames and snowflakes started flying around as a result of their quarrel. Cana's barrel of wine started freezing over being closer to Gray. She went to kick him but missed and hit Jet who, looking away for a moment thought it was Droy and went to punch him. One thing led to another and all of Fairy Tail started at it, a huge fight engulfing any other previous activities.

Lucy, still sitting at the bar sighed, so much for no fighting today. "Here you go." Mira piped in setting a plate down in front of Lucy, it was some new curry dish Mira was trying to get everyone to try. "The quicker you eat and get Natsu out of here the more chance the guild has of not being torn to pieces." Lucy gave a lighthearted laugh and tried to eat while ignoring the ruckus.

"Hoy, Lucy, what cha got there?" Natsu questioned trying to get at her food. Lucy slapped his hand and pulled her plate away glaring at Natsu. "This food is mine" Lucy shot at him. Before he had time to complain he was pulled back into the mess of a fight that was consuming the guild.

Lucy picked up the pace that she was eating before Natsu tried to take a second round at stealing her food. "I don't know what to do with him." Lucy complained to Mira through rapid bites. "Sure you do, you've made it this long with him." Mira said smiling; Lucy could tell she had ulterior motives. "You two make such a cute couple you know." And there it was. Lucy couldn't hold back a bit of blush but denied Mira and her matchmaking tendencies. "We're not a couple." Lucy said finishing off her lunch.

"Sure you're not; anyway I approved the job so you can head out now."

"Thanks Mira, see you later." Lucy called while sliding off her chair. She grabbed Natsu by the scarf and started dragging him out of the guild. Gray was still calling after him saying the flame freak could not even stay for a decent fight. Natsu started kicking to get out of Lucy's grasp to go after Gray, Lucy gave them both a stare like she could kill them and they shut up. Just then Natsu had a realization. "Hey, Happy are you coming?" He shouted up towards the blue cat floating above the mess of a guild hall. "Nah, I'm going to spend some time with Charle."

"Okay." Natsu replied putting on a pouting face while walking out of the guild with Lucy. Lucy thought for a moment. Hani Forest wasn't too far away; they could make it there by nightfall if they walked. She would much rather prefer a carriage but just the thought of having to deal with Natsu's motion sickness without Happy made her nauseous. At least with Happy there he kept Natsu from getting sick on everyone. They really needed another solution besides Wendy's magic to deal with that.

"Hey Natsu, we should probably start walking we can spend the night in a town near Hani and finish the request in the morning and hopefully be back tomorrow afternoon." Lucy explained.

"Ya sure Luce, it'd be faster by carriage." He reluctantly suggested. Then something clicked. Was Lucy worried about him? No way, right? Lucy waved off the suggestion. "No we don't want to get you motion sick if we don't have to, and we could use the money we save on a hotel, anyway…" She stopped herself in the middle of the sentence what she was saying started sounding weird to her. And did _Natsu_ just suggest using transportation? That was a bit weird, though she could hear reluctance in his voice.

"…Anyway, what?" Natsu questioned. "Oh… uh, just that we should probably pack for the night." By then they had reached Lucy's house. "Uh could you meet me back here in about thirty minutes?"

"Yea, sure." Natsu said walking off.

After about ten minutes Lucy was done packing, all that was left was to wait for Natsu. She sat down on her bed and memories of Natsu invading her house flooded her head. He was always such an idiot coming into her house without her permission, lying in her bed, stealing her food. And as much of an idiot as he was, he was also her best friend. Maybe…maybe he was more. She shook her head violently trying to get the thoughts out of her head, what was she thinking?

Just then Natsu jumped through the window. "Use the door you idiot!" Lucy shouted. "Aw, but that's no fun, anyway, are you done packing?" Lucy saw what Natsu was doing, changing the subject, but she honestly didn't want to waste time so she went with it. It was ten minutes earlier than planned but she was ready. "Yea, are you? You got here quite fast." Lucy replied.

"Yea, I don't pack much, let's go." Natsu said headed for the window. Lucy intercepted him closing the window and locking it; she then grabbed his wrist and dragged him out the door which she locked behind her. Only when she got outside did she realize she was still clinging to Natsu's wrist. She quickly let go and turned away from Natsu so he wouldn't see her blush. Lucy started walking towards the path that lead to Hani Natsu was glancing at her wondering why she was suddenly acting so weird. Then it clicked that it could have been the whole holding hands thing and looked at the ground awkwardly. Then again it wasn't like they held hands, more like Lucy just dragging him everywhere, right? Then again…maybe it wasn't. Natsu sighed and put his hands behind his head, he began to wonder how long they were going to have to walk before they got to Hani. He knew Lucy didn't like really long hikes.

* * *

**So how was it? Horrible, amazing, or in between. Well I liked it. Here's the deal, if I get 15 reviews (good or bad) I'll put out the next chapter, otherwise it'll be out in a week (unless I get antsy). See ya real soon everybody.**

**Kay' ^.^**  
**~Airka**


	2. Chapter 2: A Fairy's Protection Promise

It was getting later quicker than Lucy thought, or was it just her starting to black out? She pulled out Horologium for a while, but his time ran out long ago, although she sent him back slightly early because she wanted to spend a bit more time walking with Natsu, but she was sort of regretting it now.

"Natsu, can we take a break for a minute? I just want some water." Lucy called.

Natsu glanced at her with a look of concern as she leaned heavily against a tree while digging through her backpack for the water she had brought.

Finding the water bottle, Lucy gave a sigh of relief. While taking in heavy gulps of refreshing water, it overflow ran down the side of her lips. After gasping for air after taking a break from the water Lucy looked at the ground. She knew she looked like a sweaty tired idiot. Her face went from pink to red. She looked at the ground longer hoping her hair was covering her face. How long had they been walking?

"You okay Luce?" Natsu suddenly chimed in.

"I'm okay, just give me a minute." Lucy said sitting next to the tree she was leaning on, hair still covering her face. Natsu walked towards her in an attempt to see Lucy's face, but she looked away. He looked at her curiously, "Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Yea, I'm sure." Lucy replied while splashing some of her water on her face, then drying it off with her sleeve. She knew that wasn't very ladylike, and frankly, she didn't care anymore. She was tired and embarrassed for being tired, and ready to get to the next town. Lucy finally looked up and noticed the sky was turning hazy shades of orange and purple. Was it that late already?

She looked over to see Natsu noticeably closer to her. "I'm fine, really." Lucy said with a smile. With that she got up and started walking a few paces. Natsu began to follow. After just a couple minutes she could see black spots in her vision. Why was she tiring so quickly? She tried to rub it out of her sight, but her pace slowed down. Was she going to reach her limit just from walking a few hours?

Lucy stumbled on her next step and began heading for the ground faster than she could catch herself. Lucy closed her eyes to brace for impact. She felt a sudden stop and looked to see that Natsu grabbed her wrist before she hit the ground.

"Thank, thank you, Natsu." Lucy stuttered, still trying to blink the blurriness out of her vision. Was she getting sick or something? She felt off.

"You're not okay." Natsu stated glancing over Lucy.

"Here" Natsu continued, getting in a position to give her a piggy-back ride.

"No, no that's alright. I'm fine now." Lucy continued.

"No you're not," Natsu persisted. "Now get on."

Lucy sighed but hopped on Natsu's back. It was so warm. As he lifted her up and started walking she could feel herself lull off into sleep.

"Hoy." Natsu whispered. "Don't fall asleep on me." He said making no obvious attempt to keep her awake. It was harder to keep her balanced though. Lucy gave into the temptation to sleep as she snuggled close to Natsu's back, so comforting. Was it weird to think that? Before she could process the thought she fell asleep. Natsu sighed, "I guess I'll take care of checking into the hotel then."

After about another hour of walking and right as nightfall was hitting, Natsu arrived at the next town. It was bright and festive. It seemed like there was a sort of festival was being held. Trying not to wake Lucy, Natsu navigated through the crowd looking for the hotel. When he finally got there it seemed a bit nicer than the hotels Lucy would normally book, but he was sure the name was right. Hani Inns, could there be another one around, or had he heard Lucy wrong when he asked before they left. There was only one way to find out.

Natsu walked in the hotel careful to balance Lucy while opening the door. She sure could sleep when she wanted to. While walking up to the front desk Natsu looked around. It was definitely nicer than the usual Inns Lucy booked for missions. A fountain was flowing at the entrance and he could see a pool out back. There was also a sign that read "Magic show in the Auditorium every night at six." He looked at the man behind the counter who was staring back at him, eyebrows slightly raised. He looked middle aged, yet sort of young at the same time. He had dark brown shaggy hair that hung slightly above his eyebrows, and he wore a nice suit that did little to hide the fact that he looked quite skinny; he had a reasonable height but sharp scanning eyes. He was probably questioning why he had a girl on his back. "Hey mister," Natsu began to ask, "Do we have a reservation? The name should be under Lucy Heartfilia." His raised eyebrows lowered and his attention turned to the girl on his back, as if thinking about something. His eyes softened and he looked back at Natsu. "Yes, I believe we do, the room is 1020, just down that hallway." He pointed down a hallway across from him. "Would you like some help? It must be tough to carry your bags while carrying Ms. Heartfilia."

"How'd you know her name?" Natsu asked. The man handed him the key while looking at him like he was an idiot. "Well I'm assuming you're not Ms. Heartfilia." He stated while grabbing Natsu's bag.

"Oh." Natsu said feeling like an idiot, following the man down the hall.

"By the way my name is Haru Satou, Mr. Dragneel." It took a few seconds to process. "Wait, how'd you know MY name?" Natsu asked.

"You are also registered under the room." Satou-san said while smiling at him. Natsu just blinked.

"Here we are." Satou-san stated while opening the door to their hotel room, and placing their bags inside. "I'll be going." With that he walked down the hall and disappeared from sight.

Still slightly flustered, Natsu turned the lights on with one arm while still juggling with Lucy in the other. The room was nice. Two white beds with mahogany backboards and matching furniture and a bathroom full of porcelain and complementary soaps. Natsu gently placed Lucy on the bed closer to the window and sat on the bed with her. He brushed some hair out of her face and stared at her for a bit. She looked so fragile there. Like a china doll that could break if you dropped her from too high. He wanted to protect her for some reason. To keep her from shattering.

"I-I" Natsu began, "I promise that I will protect you." Natsu whispered to Lucy. He didn't know why it was so hard to say it to her. He could normally blurt out whatever came to his mind. But now he almost felt sort of embarrassed. Natsu rubbed his face with one hand feeling an unfamiliar blush spread across it. Then he felt a pair of hands grip the arm he left propped up on Lucy's bed. Lucy started to murmur something and Natsu leaned closer to hear. "Then I'll protect you too." Lucy mumbled in her sleep. Had she heard him? Natsu pulled back looking kindly at Lucy.

Natsu stood up shaking off Lucy's hands. He began to walk towards the light switch, he was quite tired himself. After turning the light off Natsu plopped down on his bed and began staring at Lucy's silhouette. "Thanks." He murmured to Lucy before drifting off to sleep himself.

"You're welcome." Lucy whispered while staring at the shadow of Natsu. Knowing that the idiot would never figure out she was actually awake when he said that to her. "I'll hold you to that then…and I'll keep up my end."

Lucy's eyelids felt heavy again and she decided to drift back to sleep herself.


	3. Chapter 3: Enough Fluff for a Pillow

**Hey-o! Here's chapter three for your enjoyment. Anyway do you like the fact that I only use names instead of descriptions when the characters talk? For example, "whoa," Lucy inquired. Instead of descriptions like "Whoa," the blonde mage inquired. Unless someone doesn't like it I'm going to just use names, to me it feels a bit pointless to describe someone when you already know what they look like, but you guys decide. Oh and I don't know if this is cannon or not but here lacrima can be used for communication like phones.**

**Geez, I can really blabber on. I just have a lot to say since I forgot the Author's Notes last chapter. Oh and by the way thanks for the reviews, stick around and I'll respond to them this chapter.**

**Kay' ^.^**

**~Airka**

* * *

Light flooded the room when Natsu tried to peak behind the curtains. Moaning, Lucy turned over, trying to avoid the light.

"Whoops." Natsu said, not meaning to stir Lucy, funny how she was out-sleeping him after sleeping a good portion on the way to town. In a spur of childish revenge for having to lug Lucy to town, Natsu pushed the curtains wide open.

Not able to ignore it, Lucy grumbled louder, "Natsu, I don't want to get up yet." Trying to block the light with a pillow Lucy scooted to the edge of the bed.

"Well you need to get up Luce." Natsu said while stretching. "We have a job to do." Though he wasn't really sure they should try to do it today.

Natsu opened the window and turned his gaze to the bustling streets. It seemed that the festival he had to make his way through wasn't quite over.

"Hey, Luce, it seems like there is a festival going on in this town."

"Huh?" Lucy mumbled while rubbing her eyes and walking up to the window. "Oh, yea I'm pretty sure it's their annual Enchanted Fireworks show. Satou-san mentioned it when I contacted him with the lacrima. I'm pretty sure it ends today." Lucy finished.

"Hey, Luce, I may be overthinking this but," Lucy stifled a laugh, the idea of Natsu overthinking something seemed kind of out there. She turned her attention back to him taking him as seriously as possible. Natsu gave her a funny look witnessing this but he continued. "Do you know Satou-san, like from before?"

He could have sworn he saw Satou look at Lucy like he knew her. Lucy looked at him a minute then smiled gently.

"Actually, I do." Natsu stared at her, waiting for her to explain. "He was good friends with my dad. After my mother died and my father was out of town a lot of times he'd come over to take care of me. Soon after I left I heard he started a hotel business. I suppose over the seven years we were gone it had grown quite large, huh? Anyway, whenever we came back I still was able to keep contact with him and he said if I ever need a place to stay he'd offer a room for free, so we should probably thank him." Lucy explained. "It's been a while I wonder if he had changed."

Natsu continued to process all that he had just been told. When it had all clicked he realized he had gotten side tracked. "Cool, so we have a free hotel."

"Well, I insisted we pay him something, but for what it's normally priced at to stay here it's probably nothing." Lucy said.

Natsu looked at her in disbelief, Lucy offering to give away money. This guy must be pretty significant to make Lucy drop her stinginess. Lucy gave a pouting face to Natsu's shock. Was it that hard to believe she wanted to thank someone for a favor?

Natsu was determined to get back to what he was saying earlier. "Anyway, Lucy, I…uh, well since you weren't feeling well yesterday, I thought we should probably take the day off since Hani Forest is marked as monster infested, it could be a bit risky. We could go to the festival since it's the last day, you know."

Lucy pondered this a minute. She hated being seen as incapable to do something. Natsu had a point though; maybe a day of rest would help her. Honestly she did want to stay and see Hani's fireworks. She heard they rivaled Magnolia's sakura trees. Lucy felt the urge of curiosity wash over her and she turned to Natsu.

"Sure I'd love to spend the day at the festival together." Lucy announced ecstatically. She saw Natsu blush slightly, which was rare and weird. Then what she said hit her and she blushed herself. Lucy quickly shuffled through her bag for clothes then headed for the bathroom. "I'm changing." She shouted back at Natsu before closing the door behind her.

Lucy turned her attention to the mirror trying to block everything else out. Was what she said okay? Did she just make Natsu Blush? Natsu of all people! The thick-skulled imbecile that is clueless when it comes to common sense. Then again she knew Natsu could be perceptive if he actually tried.

Lucy shook the thought out of her head and splashed water on her face. She started patting herself with the towel and realized she probably needed to shower. After about twenty minutes Lucy realized Natsu might be curious why she was taking so long.

Changing Lucy came out of the bathroom with a towel draped over her shoulders so her hair could drip onto it.

"Are you done Luce? There's some breakfast here. That Satou guy brought it over here and said it was on the house."

"I'm surprised you didn't eat my half as well Natsu."

"Well the last thing I need is to be wandering the streets while you're complaining that you're hungry." He smirked.

"Go bathe, you smell horrible!" Lucy retorted while throwing a towel at his face.

"Okay, okay." Natsu picked up a change of clothes then headed for the bathroom. Sighing heavily Lucy plopped down on the bed. Smelling the food, Lucy realized how hungry she was. A couple pancakes eggs, and bacon, a truly home-style meal. She'd have to thank Satou-san later.

Not a single crumb was left when Lucy was done. When was the last time she ate? Well she supposed it didn't really matter. Lucy hopped off the bed and headed for the door. If they were going to stay another day she'd have to ask Satou-san for an extension on the room. She hoped that he'd understand, though she was quite sure he would.

Making her way down the hall Lucy took in the surroundings, this place was so elegant. Lucy was lost in thought by the time she realized she had wandered too far. After a while Lucy finally made her way to the front desk. The man behind the desk was working on something with his back turned to her but he was definitely Satou-san, but he was so different, had it really been that long? Thinking back to the time gap Lucy supposed it really had been.

"Are you Satou-san?" Lucy asked hesitantly. The man turned and looked at her with gentle eyes, Lucy supposed not much really had altered.

"It's been a long time, Ms. Heartfilia." He said smiling at her. They chit-chatted for a while just catching up. Lucy felt that she had missed him. When they were growing up he was almost like a brother since he was only five years older than her, although he was twelve years older than her now, since there was a time gap. She never knew why he always came over to watch her while her father was gone. She didn't think it was at her dad's requests.

She decided to bring it back to topic before she forgot why she came over. "May we have the room for another night please Satou-san; we decided to stay for the festival."

"Why of course Ms. Heartfilia, you know you can stay here as much time as you need to."

"Thank you Satou-san, and by the way, you know you can call me Lucy."

"I'll call you Lucy if you call me Haru, like when we were kids."

"I believe I called you onii-san. But if you prefer Haru, okay." Lucy said in a teasing way. The seemingly cold Satou-san began to laugh heavily.

"Whatever you prefer…Lucy."

"I'll see you later…onii-san." Lucy said walking away. She was that glad some things never change.

When Lucy got back to the hall she saw Natsu wandering around sniffing the air, wearing nothing but a towel.

"WH-what are you doing Natsu?" Lucy nearly shouted.

"LUCY!" He yelled excitedly. "I couldn't smell you anymore and I thought something happened." He explained.

Lucy averted her eyes from him as she pushed him back in the room before anyone could see them. Did he have to look for her when he was nearly naked? His pink hair was still dripping from the shower. "I-I went to extend the room a night." Lucy stuttered. "Would you PLEASE put some clothes on now?" Lucy begged, without waiting for a response she shoved him in the bathroom and closed the door to keep him in.

Did he really have to be so rash? Well, at least he cared for her. With that Lucy sat on the bed waiting for Natsu to come back out, dressed this time.

* * *

**SO, how was it? Also, guess whose early updating again. Honestly, this has absolutely nothing to do with what I planned for this chapter, this is basically filler. And it's not over yet, there is still a whole other chapter of it. Sorry, but I just got this idea and it stuck. Hope you like it, don't worry it'll be back to the plot soon, but who doesn't love fluff? **

**Also, I was planning on starting more frequent updates, like every other day-ish. If I get a couple people who agree, I'll go with it.**

**AmestrisElric****, ShadowHunter11, & Guest: Thanks sooooo much, the fact that you guys like the story is the reason I can continue to write it.**

**Micbuscus: Thanks for the compliment makes me feel like I'm getting the characters right, and I'll try not to disappoint, don't' want anything happening. -.-'  
^.^**

**Guest: (I wish you had a user, it's the comment about Lucy) There is a reason Lucy is like that. (Oh, slight spoiler huh?) You'll get to see sooner than you might think.**

**Until next time, I'll try to keep the Author's Notes shorter, but you did get a slightly longer chapter so it should be okay. -.-'**

**Kay' ^.^**

**~Airka**


	4. Chapter 4: Hani's Hanabi Festival

**Yo, I have a special surprise for you guys! My editor went out of town for a bit, but now she's back, YAY~! To celebrate I'm releasing a REALLY long chapter today, you're welcome, as a cherry on top the next chapter will be out in only a couple of days YAY~! Be sure to give a big thanks to my editor, Kay?**

**So here's the super special awesome festival chapter, a lot of fluff, then again isn't that what is hoped for from a fanfic? I decided this is probably the last chapter where I have a/n at the beginning. I'll just put everything at the end after this. Well, enjoy.**

**Kay' ^.^ **

**~Airka**

"Luce, let's go now." Natsu whined. He just got out of the bathroom and was eager to head out for the daytime festival events.

"Yea, just give me a second." Lucy said grabbing her keys and wallet. She didn't want to spend too much money, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to enjoy the festival a bit. Between the training, which she had started recently, and jobs, she didn't relax much.

"Let's head out Natsu!" Lucy shouted excitedly. A huge grin spread across her face. It had been so long since she took a day off to enjoy herself.

"Yea, lets." Natsu was staring, he couldn't help it. Lucy was flashing the biggest grin he had ever seen on her. Now that he thought about it, when was the last time Lucy had taken a day off? She seemed to be working herself to the bone lately. Maybe that was why she was so tired on the way here. After a mission with Team Natsu a little while back Lucy had randomly decided to start some training. Was it finally catching up to her?

Natsu shrugged off the thought and stood up to follow Lucy out the door. Now was the time to enjoy the festival. Lucy was excited and he wanted it to stay that way. He blushed a bit. Should he be thinking like that? Before considering it further he shut the door behind him and followed Lucy out the hotel.

While walking out, Lucy waved towards Satou. Afterwards she started skipping down the streets. Natsu walked next to her. He guessed she was bored without riverbank to walk along with her. Lucy switched from skipping to hopping from stone to stone next to the sidewalk.

"Careful." Natsu warned. As Lucy turned around to look at him she wobbled on the stone she just jumped to. "I'll be fine." Lucy said while smiling.

She looked too childish jumping there, a giant grin on her face.

She stopped to stare at a vendor they just passed. Natsu turned to see where she was looking. It was a dumpling stand. Her eyes sparked as she stared at the sign. "Oi, Natsu, want some dumplings? It's my treat."

Natsu could smell the dumplings and started drooling, probably looking like an idiot. "I'll take that offer!" Natsu shouted ecstatically. Lucy went up to the vendor and bought a basket of dumplings.

Lucy grabbed the basket and started tossing it to keep it off her hands. "Hot! HOT!" Lucy began to screech, trying to keep her hands from getting burned.

Natsu snatched the basket out of her hands, the heat not bothering him at all. "Lucy you're such a weirdo." He stated, smiling.

"I don't want to hear that from an idiot." She said with a pout, but started smiling too. She couldn't help it. Natsu's happy-go-lucky attitude was contagious. It was going to be a great day!

Lucy took a dumpling from the basket and blew on it before taking a bite. Natsu followed suit. It was so delicious! Lucy took a few more huge bites trying to blow out the heat in her mouth from the dumpling that had yet to completely cool. Natsu shoved two more in his mouth not even bothering to blow on them. Lucy looked at him in awe. She supposed being a fire wizard helped him with these kinds of things, although it could just be the fact he really likes food. Shaking her head, Lucy decided it was both.

They continued down the vendor-lined street. Lucy was awe-struck by the variety of stores at this festival; she couldn't keep herself from grinning, and didn't really notice that Natsu was staring at her.

"Hello, Miss." Both Natsu and Lucy turned to face the new feminine voice. She was standing outside of what looked like a clothing vendor. The woman continued to gently smile as she proceeded with her speech. "I'm sure the young miss here would look great in a kimono. It's tradition for the festival and we have some for sale or rent. There's definitely some I think both you and your date can agree on." She continued smiling.

A vicious blush spread across Lucy's face.

"He's, H-he's not," Lucy stammered.

"I-I'm not," Natsu picked up.

"We're not," Lucy tried to finish but was tugged into the store by the women before she could. Now that Lucy looked at her, she wasn't too much older than herself. Lucy looked back at Natsu who was following behind but not looking at them, his face was looking just the slightest bit pink. Maybe it's just his hair, Lucy thought. She turned her attention back to the woman just in time to catch her balance from another sudden tug. She was quite the persistent sales women.

"Oh by the way my name is Aiko Satomi." Satomi said while combing through the racks.

"My name is Lucy Heartfilia, call me Lucy."

Satomi's eyes were gleaming at the opportunity to dress up another girl. Lucy stared at Satomi-san as she sifted through the massive row of clothes. She started hearing her mumbling things like, 'Oh this would be good' and, 'Oh, but this would complement her eyes better.'

Finally she seemed to have decided what she liked the most and shoved Lucy into the changing room and closing the curtain behind them.

"Here put on this undergarment, then I'll help you with the rest. Don't worry I won't look." Satomi stated doing a mock scouts honor pose before covering her eyes with her hands and turning around.

Lucy pondered for a moment before reluctantly deciding to put it on.

"Okay Satomi-san, I'm done." Lucy said while fixing a few remaining wrinkles in the clothes.

"Oh, don't be so formal, call me Aiko." Aiko said, grabbing the cloth she had brought with her and started slipping it on Lucy.

"This fabric is really nice," Lucy complimented. At that Aiko's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Oh, you really think so, I make them all myself. I love it! I also make enchanted robes and what-not, but this festival is my favorite time though. I get to dress up all these pretty girls in my outfits; I'm doing what I always dreamed I would do. I get to make people happy doing what I love." She went on and kept telling Lucy how wonderful she would look in the fabric and continued making small adjustments to the kimono.

Lucy had been so immersed in their conversation that she hadn't noticed that Aiko had finished the outfit. She took a long look in the mirror and gasped, it was so beautiful. A blue kimono with scattered white petals was draped over her, the sash she wore was a golden color it kind of looked like the outfit she normally wears had been transformed into a kimono, and she guessed that Aiko had based it off her outfit to start with. Her hair was partly pulled up with a clip that also had what looked like petals draping from it.

"So whatcha think?" Aiko cut in. "Please tell me you'll wear it around the festival."

Lucy gaped at her. "Aiko, I will BUY this from you, it's astonishing."

"That's wonderful! Maybe you can work up the guts to ask out your boyfriend out there." Aiko flashed a wide grin as Lucy blushed.

"He's not…"

"Of course he's not, not yet. You have the ultimate chance to change that tonight."

"You really think so… wait, no. We're just partners."

"Oh, come ON! Don't you want it to be more?" Well, actually she wasn't sure, should she? Natsu did have his sweet moments. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to be more than friends. Lucy tried to shake the thought.

As if reading her mind, Aiko smiled. "You can do it." She encouraged. Before Lucy could reply Aiko pulled back the curtains revealing Natsu who had found a seat while waiting for Lucy.

Natsu gaped trying to control his obvious stare; he was fighting off blush and decided to look away from Lucy to gather himself.

"I-I..." He stammered, "You, you look nice." He finished.

A wide smile spread across Lucy's face. "Thanks!" She chirped. Natsu walked outside and waited for Lucy, why did he choke up back there? He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair; it was getting close to sunset already.

Lucy grabbed her wallet to pay for the kimono. Aiko stopped her. "Considered it paid for if you confess to that lucky boy over there. Oh, here take my card, and call anytime." She said handing her a business card.

"I-I couldn't." Lucy stammered handing her the money. Aiko sighed and grabbed the money.

"Suit yourself, but I didn't dress you up all nice for nothing, you better make a move on that boy Lucy!"

"Eh!" Lucy gaped and debated whether or not to heed her advice. She decided to try and protest but was pushed out the door. She turned back to see Aiko flashing two thumbs up and eyes that screamed 'go get him!'

Natsu and Lucy walked along in a slightly awkward silence. Soon Natsu spotted carnival games and dropped the awkwardness by tugging on Lucy.

"Let go try those they look so fun!" He shouted in his usual childish manner. Lucy eyes softened and she smiled as she watched her childish friend tug her towards the festival games.

After several games like 'get a ring on the bottle' and an arm wrestling match, in which Natsu won and unintentionally lit his hands on fire after victory, everybody started panicking and before it could get worse Lucy dragged Natsu away from the crowd.

Afterwards Lucy decided to buy some Ramen from a stand to settle Natsu down. They found a bench nearby to eat their food when Lucy noticed it was getting dark. 'The fireworks should start soon.' Lucy thought.

"I can't wait for the fireworks." Lucy anticipated aloud.

"I think you and your boyfriend will like them miss." An old man on a bench across from them said. He was fiddling with something that Lucy couldn't quite make out. And then, for the second time that day Natsu and Lucy started they're little denial routine.

"He's, h-he's not…"

"I-I'm not,"

"We're not," The man looked up at them and gave a cross between a sigh and a laugh. "Oh, I see how it is, my apologies. Anyway would you like to hear a short story about our humble little town?"

Natsu eyed to man curiously.

"Sure!" Lucy piped in.

The man gave a laugh and settled in to tell his tell. "Long ago when this town was nothing but a prairie a man had wandered here. He was an outcast of sorts. You see this man had extraordinary magical power, of which he had very little control." Lucy suddenly scooted closer to Natsu, it sounded like this story was taking a creepy turn. "To release excess magic he would create fireworks. Every town he went to he was chased out, taking his fireworks as an attack on their villages. You see, nobody had really experimented with the concept of fireworks and it was considered heresy in the warring times back then. He took beating after beating, eventually wandering into the forest to escape mankind. Living off the fruit he grew because his fireworks scared away animals. He had eventually come to build a shack out there secluding himself from everyone he became bitter." The old man took a breath recollecting his found childhood story.

"Then, one curious day a beat up woman wandered to the man's secluded shack, men were chasing her to ransom her off, after all she belonged to noble family. The desperate woman begged the man for help. As he was trying to refuse her the men chasing her arrived. The man shot fireworks into the air then aimed his magic towards the man. Before he was able to attack, the cowardly bandits had taken off. Afterwards he told the woman to scurry off. However, she decided to remain, she helped with chores, and had informed her family she was well, but in hiding. She stayed and they began to build a house together. One day the man couldn't take it and he asked her why she stayed. She smiled at the man and simply said that he made beautiful fireworks. He was awe-struck. People had always feared him for that. Afterwards they slowly fell in love, and eventually got married. Warring times were coming to an end and they gambled everything and started a fireworks business, spreading the art throughout the country. The most avid admirers of his work gathered around him from apprentices to just fans and a small village formed. The village was named Hanabi after the Japanese word for fireworks, as time passed the name was shortened to Hani but the art of fireworks is still practiced in this town today. All thanks to the couple that wanted to share something they both loved with the world."

Lucy was smiling kindly and Natsu had actually quieted down and pay attention to the whole story. A thoughtful silence preceded them until they heard an explosion in the distance. Lucy glanced up just in time to see the first firework of the night.

"Hey, if you want to find a good place for fireworks just follow sparky here." The man lifted his hand up and a magic circle formed. What looked like the end of a sparkler suddenly appeared and started floating around them.

Natsu backed away and the old man laughed. "He won't bite. If you follow him though he'll lead you to where the town founders watched fireworks together, it's a secret that has been passed down the family for generations." He smiled at them as the information sunk in. "You better get going now; you wouldn't want to miss the show.

"Thank you so much mister!" Lucy shouted as she began to run after the sparkler-like creature. The old man gave the one last smile and waved as they ran off. He sat on the bench alone now.

He hoped that that girl could tell her feelings to the boy; he had sent him to the place his ancestor had confessed his feelings, and the last place he watched fireworks with his love, he was sure it would work out somehow.

"I'm sorry I gave away our little secret, but I'm sure you'd understand my love…Maria."

'And grandfather,' he thought.

This time it was Lucy's turn to tug on someone as they made their way through the forest with Lucy pulling Natsu the whole way as they ran. Finally sparky had stopped and did a few circles in the air before dissipating.

Just then another huge firework went of shining brightly before it too faded in the night sky. They had a perfect view, the fireworks were so close and no one else was around really. Lucy gasped and then decided to take a seat on the grass. Natsu followed suit.

They sat in silence, gawking at the fireworks show. It seemed the show's final spurt of fireworks was going off. Lucy glanced at Natsu who was still gazing at the sky. His eyes reflected the fireworks brightness. Lucy thought back to Aiko, 'I can do this!' She thought.

"Natsu..." Lucy whispered, with Natsu's hearing he turned to her immediately, giving her his full attention.

"What is it Luce?" Natsu asked. Lucy fiddled at her fingers and looked around, wishing she hadn't realized her feelings yet.

"Natsu, I-I wanted to tell you something." Lucy stammered.

"Yea, what?" He looked at her expectantly. Lucy was searching for the right words as her heart sped up a bit.

"Natsu, I-I…" A sudden wave of pain stopped her mid-sentence. She grabbed her head and yelped in agony.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried. "Are you okay!?" She struggled to answer him as the pain was subsiding then another wave hit and she began to fall, but Natsu grabbed her before she hit the ground.

"Lucy!? Lucy!?" Natsu continued yelling.

"N-Natsu…" She mumbled, but before she could finish her sentence she blacked out.

**Oh, the plot, she thickens. Whatcha think? To dramatic or OOC? Anyway I have a lot to cover so PLEASE read these a/n, it should be one of the last long a/n at least for a while. **

**Anyway, I used oi instead of hoy in this chapter, you know Japanese for hey, did I spell it right? I'm still not sure.**

**On to the more important stuff, I think this story will end a bit sooner than I anticipated. Don't panic, I mean I'm probably going to make it more like 15 chapters instead of 30 or so. But it still depends at this point; I'll let you know more in later chapters. **

**Also, most of this chapter I didn't expect to write, it kinda just came out while I was typing, I hope you liked it. All I really planned on was Lucy wearing a kimono and them watching the fireworks somewhere. Whatcha gonna do, right? **

**Oh, and sorry this chapter took longer than a week to come out, but you got a really long chapter so it really should be fine.**

**Lastly big thanks to ShadowHunter11 and Mimichan55. Mimichan55 I really hope the festival chapter met your expectations. Your comment encouraged me to make this chapter the best I could, hope you liked it. I think that's all.**

**Kay' ^.^**

**~Airka**


	5. Chapter 5: Filler Accomplished

Lucy was out cold. Natsu pulled Lucy closer to feel her forehead, she was burning up! He needed something to cool her off, anything! 'If only the ice freak were here.' Natsu thought cursing; the day he actually wanted Gray to be around him is the day the world was screwed into an apocalypse. Desperate Natsu picked up Lucy bridal style and began making his way through the forest.

The inn was pretty close, but not close enough. How long would it take to get there, twenty minutes maybe? Natsu was debating on what to do even after getting out of the forest. It was getting late and the streets were emptying. Wandering closer to the inn Natsu spotted that kimono girl, between the mix of shock and trying to get her attention he almost dropped Lucy. Regaining balance he paced towards her. Thankfully she spotted them so Natsu didn't have to follow her all the way down the road chasing her down.

"Miss!" Natsu shouted as he caught up with her. "Could you help me? Lucy was about to say something then collapsed all of the sudden."

Aiko's eyes widened as she motioned for Natsu to follow her. She unlocked the shop she just left and held the door open to let Natsu in.

"Put her down on that couch over there." Aiko said pointing to it as she began rummaging through a cupboard.

"Does she have symptoms of any sort?" Aiko questioned as she pulled out what appeared to be a first aid kit.

"Uh…" Natsu mumbled trying to process what was going on. Aiko gave him a look that implied she wanted an answer quicker than that.

"She has a fever." Natsu finally spat out. Aiko took out a thermometer and took Lucy's temperature. After a glance at the results she began scurrying around, gathering supplies and filling a pan with cool water.

"You're pretty good at this." Natsu commented, observing her.

"Yea, well I wanted to be a nurse for a while."

After about half an hour with cool towels on her head and monitoring, Lucy began to stir. She opened her eyes and tried to take in her surroundings. Spotting Aiko, she gave a weak smile.

"Sorry, mission not accomplished." With a slight giggle she drifted back to sleep, willingly this time.

"Geez, I'll forgive you just this once." Aiko mumbled. Natsu, confused with the whole situation, tried reading Aiko before his thoughts were interrupted.

"I can let you rest at my house, but it's quite far from here." Aiko suddenly said.

"We have a hotel about ten more minutes from here; I'll take her back there." Natsu decided.

Aiko thought for a moment then nodded. "Yea, okay. Oh, when Lucy wakes up can you tell her 'it's fine, better luck next time.' Also, tell her to call me sometime."

With that Natsu and Aiko split ways. Natsu switched Lucy into a piggyback position and headed down the road.

Sighing, Natsu glanced back at Lucy. "You can be a pain sometimes, you know that?" He commented. "You had me worried." He finished mumbling.

Walking back in the hotel Satou-san tried to question him but Natsu waved him off. Apparently he wasn't going to pry because he walked away quite peacefully. Walking down the hallway to their room, Natsu discovered he wasn't really in any position to grab his key.

Out of nowhere a hand passed Natsu and unlocked their door. Turning around Natsu noticed Satou-san with what appeared to be a spare key.

"You seemed to be having a problem with the door, sir." Satou-san said, a hint of warning in his tone. Natsu looked at him questionably, but said nothing. He turned to walk in the door.

"Thanks." Natsu muttered while treading through the door that was closed behind him.

He gazed at the closed door for a while. Hadn't Satou-san already left? Was he watching them?

Trying to forget about Satou-san for the moment he placed Lucy on the bed again. "This is the second time I've had to carry around the weirdo this week."

Natsu plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What were they going to do about tomorrow? They had a job to do; maybe he should try to put it off another day. Still, they had already been gone for quite a while for what was supposed to be a relatively simple mission. Natsu sighed and turned to his side.

Tired of thinking Natsu drifted off into sleep. He would deal with it tomorrow.

**Well I supposed I lied accidently. This chapter wasn't out in a couple days, and it was still kind of filler. However, some unexpected work came up, so it got delayed. Sorry. Well thanks again to my editor for such a short notice edit for you guys. The chapter isn't long, but it marks the end of the filler. Yata! Well, I suppose I'll try to come out with the next chapter real soon. Now onto review responses!**

**Mimichan55: Oh, I'm so glad you liked it! To answer your question…maybe, ha ha sorry but I promised it will be revealed what's going on with time, hopefully without plot holes, however it has been hinted at sort of recently. I'll be stupefied if you can figure it out from that though. I hope for your continued support. I'm so happy that I could brighten your day; I owe ya for how kind you've been. Also, I love the nickname Airka-chan; I think it has a nice ring. I'll be sure to make a good next chapter for you.**

**ShadowHunter11: I've seen that you've commented a couple times, thanks a bunch. Also, why? Well why not? Just kidding, it will be explained quite soon.**

**TivaNaluKick4evs: Here's more. I'm happy you liked the long chapter, I spent a lot more time then I meant to on it. Glad it was worth it.**

** 08: Happy to hear it's cute, hopefully not too OOC either. As for the NaLu scenes I'm just getting started. *cue evil laughter***

**Guest: Thanks, I'll be sure to. **

**Kay' ^.^**

**~Airka**


	6. Chapter 6: Jonathan Heartfilia

Lucy woke up with a slight headache. The memories of last night flowed through her and she sighed. Last night hadn't gone particularly well. Rubbing her temples Lucy began to sit up. The room was still relatively dark, but she could see light seeping from the window. Glancing over at Natsu she noticed he was still asleep. He fell asleep on top of his covers, still in his normal clothes. Figures, she'd never seen him wear pajamas a day in her life. She looked down at herself and noticed she was still wearing her kimono.

Lucy was glad that Natsu hadn't tried to change her, but kimonos are quite restrictive and she didn't want to stay in one longer than she had to.

Lucy was trying to make her way out of bed, but every movement she made seemed noisy to her, especially when you got a dragon slayer across the room with creepy good hearing. One way or another she managed to make it to the bathroom without waking Natsu up. Once the door was shut Lucy let out a sigh. Natsu seemed like the type to be a heavy sleeper, but you never really know with him.

After changing Lucy meticulously made her way to the door and stepped out without Natsu noticing. She didn't want to wake him up just yet so she began to make her way down the hall. She was sure Haru was around here somewhere he was always an early riser. She began spacing as she paced the hallway.

"Looking for something Lucy?" Lucy turned, surprised to hear Haru's voice.

"Onii-san morning, I didn't see you." He laughed slightly.

"Obviously from your reaction, but this works out perfectly."

"Huh?" Lucy responded.

"I was going to stop by your room in a bit."

"Why?" Lucy asked, curious now.

"Uncle Jonathan contacted me on the lacrima, he heard you were back. He wanted to see how you were doing apparently." Lucy stayed silent. She breathed in thoughtfully. How long had it been since she talked to Uncle? Several years for her, and if you include the seven years she was gone it had been quite a while. She heard he had become a successful tycoon like her dad but after her mom died he rarely came to visit. Apparently her father and his brother had friction she hadn't known about.

Anyway, one way or another, he's never been around much after Lucy's mom passed. She couldn't help but wonder how he has been after all this time. She could hardly remember his face. Realizing she had been quite for a while she turned back to Haru.

"Could I possibly contact him on your lacrima then? It kind of has been a long time since I talked to him." Haru gave a face that Lucy couldn't quite register before he continued.

"Sure it's in the back room behind the lobby desk." Haru lead the way to the desk and flipped a switch to the back room.

"He said he'd keep a lacrima around him this week, so he should pick up." Before Lucy could even thank him he walked out saying he had to make a repair to the hotel somewhere, but he'd be back soon if she waited.

Turning her attention back to the lacrima she tried to contact her Uncle. Thankfully he really did pick up and he seemed to be alone.

"Why hello Lucy dear, it's been a long time." He said with a smile.

"It sure has, Uncle, how's the lacrima manufacturing business been going?"

"Quite well, the business has prospered significantly since you've been gone, but I'm getting up there in years." He gave a light-hearted laugh. "I passed 63 recently."

"You're still lively though." Lucy smiled back not wanting to think about anything as depressing as death at the moment.

"I suppose dear. Anyway the reason I called. I figured it's about time to patch up what's left of our family. I'll be paying a visit to Magnolia in a couple of weeks, I wanted to know ahead of time if we could, well spend some time together. I never made up with your father before he died." His eyes reflected the solemn in his words. Lucy's eyes brightened, she hadn't _really_ spent time with her family in so long.

"Of course, that'd be great, just call when you get in town. I'd be glad to show you around."

"I suppose I'll be seeing you soon then dear." He smiled and waved as the lacrima connection cut. Family, huh, it had felt like Lucy didn't have any anymore. Now it was coming together again. She couldn't help but smile.

Turning the knob she opened the door to see Haru standing behind the lobby desk he seemed to be waiting for her. He loosened his tie like he had just finished a stressful job and took a step towards Lucy.

"What did Uncle Jonathan have to say?" He inquired a hint of distain in his voice. He never really seemed to like Uncle much even as kids. His curiosity overcoming his distaste he turned back to Lucy.

"Oh, he didn't say too much, but he's coming to visit soon." Haru let out a sigh, thinking, then it seemed he decided to change the pace of the conversation.

"I have a question I want to ask you." Haru began.

"Shoot." Lucy replied.

"Why was Mr. Dragneel carrying you into the hotel _again_ last night?"

"Uh, well you see, what had happened was…I was tired and he decided to carry me back last night, you know that firework show was nice." Lucy said in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

Haru scrutinized Lucy's expression, but decided to drop it. "You should probably head back to your room soon, I believe Mr. Dragneel will be waking up soon, it's getting quite late. And we wouldn't want him chasing you down the hallways half-naked again." He joked.

"You SAW that!?" Lucy shouted. Haru burst out laugh; she hadn't seen him laugh like that in a long time. He settled down and looked back at Lucy.

"Yea, I was right down the hall when it happen, I have to admit, it was quite the sight. Anyway, you can head back now; I'll send some room service to your room."

"Send room service?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, why?" He asked confused by her reaction.

"Well, it just seemed like you kind of did everything around the hotel, I haven't really seen any staff. You fix things, check people in, deliver luggage and room service, I wouldn't be surprised if you cooked the meals…" Lucy continued to ramble a bit before looking at Haru for an answer.

Haru ran his fingers through his hair and let out another chuckle. "I suppose our lack of staff _is_ quite evident." He thought for a second.

"How about a quick trip to the kitchen, you can meet a couple of the staff there." Deciding it would do no harm she decided to follow him to the back. Sure enough there were a couple of people making various meals for guests who had ordered room service. There was barely anyone though. As she passed they gave her a slight nod and smile before continuing to make their assigned dishes.

"So, what do you want for breakfast Lucy?" He smiled at her. A memory of cooking together with Haru made its way into Lucy's mind as he held up a pan and smiled.

"Well what do you think would be good?" Lucy asked.

"Hmm, well," He paused then pointed towards a sack of potatoes in the corner. "How about some hash browns then?" He asked.

Lucy gave a smile so wide the sides of her mouth hurt. "That sounds perfect. Want some help?"

"You should get back to your boyfriend before he flips out." He teased.

"I'm not, h-he's not, we're not…" She sighed and decided to quit while she was ahead. "Yeah, okay." She replied.

"So, it's official then?" He continued.

"What? No. What would be official?" He waved her off and turned to his work.

"I'll bring it over in about twenty minutes." He called to her.

"Okay." Lucy responded leaving the room pouting down the hall. She stood in front of the door while she fiddled for her key. Now she'd have to deal with Natsu.

* * *

**Hey-o! I've made it to over 10,000 words YAY~! That was my goal for this chapter. It's over 9,000! I've quite the range of OCs at this point. Is that a bad thing? Oh, well. Also editor, as promised you got your sack of potatoes in this chapter *laughs* hope you liked it. Anyway that should be pretty much all the OCs at least for a bit. The chapter after next should really pick up, are you guys as excited as I am? On to review responses!**

**Kay' ^.^**

**~Airka-chan **

**ShadowHunter11: Indeed, soon. Thanks for the repeat comments by the way, let me know you still like the story. :D**

**Mimichan55: Suspicious eh? Maaaaybe. Glad to know you'll be supporting me, I look forward to continued comments. I may not use it all the time but for now I put Airka-chan as the signature, thanks again for that ^.^. Lastly, this chapter's a bit slow, but I hope you like it too.**

**Ella Daniels: I'm so glad you liked the Hani story I wasn't sure if people thought I'd be staying to far from the characters by adding that it, you reassured me. As for Lucy, it's a secret, at least for now. I suppose Haru does draw quite the attention, I wonder why *laughs*. You get to see a bit more of him in this chapter, are your suspicions deepened? Or do have another theory. Indeed happy writing when I get wonderful comments like this. Also, nonsense, I love long comments. It gives some in-depth feedback. I hope you leave more.**

**Soma1548: Thanks for the wonderful comments and flattery; it is quite the confidence booster! Is it soon enough? Maybe I'll do a special 'release another chapter in a day-ish for you' if I can fit in my schedule. I'll certainly try, thanks for the support.**


	7. Chapter 7: Mission Start

Lucy didn't even get the chance to put the key in the door before the door opened on its own.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted, with his hand on the door. "You weren't there when I woke up; I was just 'bout to go look for ya." By now Lucy should know better than to leave Natsu alone.

"Oi, oi, I'm fine Natsu." Lucy sighed. Was she really? She could bet last night was a fiasco, and she probably looked horrible the whole way. Lucy had done some thinking and she thought she was close to finding out the cause, but she'd have to wait till they got back to Magnolia before she dealt with it.

Natsu and Lucy walked back into the room and Lucy sat down on the bed, soon followed by Natsu.

Natsu closed his eyes as if thinking. Then rubbed his hair in frustration obviously giving up on whatever he wanted to say. "Ahh." He sighed with enthusiasm.

"So what are we going to do about breakfast?" Natsu finally settled on asking.

"Oh, well onii-sa- I mean Satou-san said he'd bring us some hash browns in a bit." She changed the name midway; unsure if Natsu would get who he was if she called him onii-san.

"Oh, the weird guy." Natsu stated. Lucy's sweat dropped, why did he think he was weird? And was he really one to talk?

"By the way, what are hash browns?" Natsu asked. Lucy went to face palm but realized it wasn't really too common of a food. She only really had it with Haru who said he learned from his mom who was a foreigner. She just never really processed that it wasn't a typical dish.

"Well, um, they're kind of like shredded potatoes that are seasoned then cooked." She tried to motion out what it looked like and how you made it. It felt weird trying to explain it. Natsu nodded even though it was pretty obvious he didn't understand the concept.

He was Natsu after all, and food was food for him. He sure did love food.

There was a slight silence and Lucy couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to say something to Natsu, but was interrupted.

"Are you sure you want to go on the mission today?" Natsu suddenly spoke up. Unable to figure out an answer last night he'd decided to just ask Lucy about it. Lucy blinked a couple of times, catching the meaning behind the words.

"Yea we should just finish the job and go home. Everyone might start wondering where we went, and there's no way I'm going back to Fairy Tail after calling in sick for a mission." Lucy stated with a smile.

"Besides, I'm fine." Lucy said while striking a determined pose as if it would prove her point. Natsu thought for a moment and then decided to give in showing her his trade mark grin accompanied by a laugh.

"You're such a weirdo." Natsu said.

"I shouldn't hear that from the idiot!" Lucy proclaimed while getting behind him and stretching his cheeks out forcing him to make a stupid face. Lucy couldn't help but smile making sure Natsu didn't see it.

"Oi, Lucy that hurts!" He said struggling from her grasp. "Luuuucy!" he yapped, his words slurred from his cheeks being tugged at.

Natsu managed to grab Lucy's hands and take them off his cheeks. He turned to Lucy, "Ow, why'd ya do that?" Lucy laughed and then looked at Natsu and his cheeks, red from being pinched. Then all the sudden they realized how close they were to each other and the fact that Natsu still hadn't let go of her wrists. Lucy's cheeks went pink. Also, was it just her or did she see Natsu's red cheeks change shade too?

Natsu suddenly let go of Lucy's wrists and started rubbing his cheek absentmindedly.

"Lucy, about last night…" Natsu suddenly had an air that was more serious than Lucy was used to for him. Suddenly a knock interrupted them and Lucy got up to answer the door.

Opening the door Lucy revealed Satou-san with a tray in his hands. "Breakfast for the Heartfilia room." He announced in a formal manner.

"Oh, Haru-niisan, thanks a bunch. Could you put the tray down over there please?" Lucy asked.

Before the platter could even touch the table Lucy pointed to Natsu who had picked up his plate and started scarfing down food. Satou-san gave him a look then sighed.

"Do you need anything else, Lucy?" He asked after turning to her, ignoring the other one in the room.

"Not really, would you like to stay with us for a bit?" Lucy offered, making Natsu look up between bites at her words. However, Satou waved off the offer.

"No, I have much to do, but I'll always be around if you need me." Satou stated.

"Oh, one more thing, we'll most likely be checking out this afternoon. We are going to go out and then we'll be back for out bags." Lucy said.

Satou frowned for a second then gave a gentle smile. "Okay, but you're welcome back anytime, and you may stay as long as you like."

"Okay." Lucy called, and with that he took his leave.

Lucy stayed there a moment, onii-san seemed off, but she couldn't quite peg it. Deciding to drop the topic she walked back into the room where Natsu had just about finished eating.

Lucy grabbed her breakfast before Natsu could do it for her and began taking bites off the hash brown. After slapping Natsu's hand a total of five times for trying to take her food, Lucy had finally finished.

Lucy carefully stacked the plates and placed them outside the door.

Lucy grabbed her keys and put her hair up.

"So," Lucy started. "Are we ready for that mission?"

"Let's go!" Natsu shouted fist-pumping the air and walking out with an excited fiery aura.

Lucy followed closely behind, ready for the day to start.

* * *

**Sorry guys, I missed last week's update, and I guess technically this one, something big came up (I won't elaborate unless asked to because it feels like an excuse). This chapter has been ready for a day or so, I was just waiting for a chance to talk to my editor before posting. **

**I was going to use all the free time I got to write a super long chapter for you guys to apologize, however that failed miserably after I sat down to write and after getting this far realized it was well past one in the morning, and I had something to do the next day.**

**HOWEVER, expect something big from me soon instead. Sorry if this chapter seems kind of filler-ish and you wanted Lucy to come back and finish what she started darn it! Come on guys the mood was gone, ya need the mood! Anyways as I said, I was planning the chapter to be longer and them well, FINALLY starting the dang mission. Wow this is getting long and I'm sure you all rather have a longer chapter than me chatting at you so I'll go ahead and skip to review replies, just wanted to explain myself. ^.^**

**Mibuscus: Haha thank you. Hika-chan/editor-san**

**Soma1548: You have no reason to thank me; you're the one supporting me! Sorry I was unable to update soon, I'll make it up to you soon *stars of determination twinkling in eyes* I've got something big planed. Thanks again for pointing out the repeat, I've fixed it now. Hope to hear from you again soon.**

**Mimichan55: Glad you liked Lucy's uncle, I was wondering if I was pushing the family ties because in the show/manga, it KINDA a big deal that she doesn't really have family anymore. Ah yes the ever illusive Haru what IS up with him? Sorry for the not so soon update, but better late than never. Also, by the way, I love you new profile picture with Erza and her cake, it adorable! Which reminds me I haven't really had her in the story yet, maybe I'll do that soon. Oh, look at me rambling now, thanks for your support! ^.^**

**ShadowHunter11: THANK Y-YOU! *sniffles with tears in eyes trying to make a grab for a hug* I'll try to update more, promise, hope to hear from you soon.**

**TenshiYuki21: Haha sorry, no confessing quite yet. I'll defiantly keep it up, even if I did miss one of my weeks. -.-'Oh well you win some you lose some. Hope to see you back here soon. ^.^**

**Guest: Indeed I did, sorry, it's fixed now.**

**Master Piggy: Love the name by the way, of course I'll continue.**

**That's all for now.  
Kay' ^.^  
~Airka-chan**


	8. Chapter 8: Hani Forest

As they walked out of the hotel Lucy gave a wave to Haru and started telling him where they'd be headed for the day and what-not. Something sounding like a pout could be heard from Natsu to her left. Mumbling something about they had a mission to do or something.

Sighing Lucy picked up her back pack and trotted after Natsu who was walking out of the hotel. As she walked out the doors she gave one last smile towards Haru.

Haru smiled back thinking it was just like the old days, and for some reason that didn't comfort him. After Lucy was out of sight his smile dropped and his eyes became half-lidded and glazed over. He had matters to attend to.

Lucy slowed her pace from a trot to a meander, with Natsu stopping every ten seconds at some sort of food stand it wasn't hard for her to catch up. When she was finally in reach she tried coaxing Natsu towards the forest, but had to end up dragging him towards it. Natsu whining about food the whole way, and it was testing Lucy's dwindling patience.

"Look, Natsu, we have a mission to do. A mission, I remind you, we have already put off at least a day. I'm going to be perfectly clear here. We…need…to…work." Lucy explained slowly.

Not satisfied Natsu continued mumbling, and Lucy took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Natsu, if it means that much to you I'll treat you when we get back," Lucy said. "But we have to do the job first." Lucy added in quickly.

At those words Natsu seemed to perk up and he was now the one in front dragging Lucy.

"We're going to feast when we get back!" Natsu cheered happily.

"Wait! I still have a budget you know, don't make me broke. I HAVE A RENT TO PAY!" Lucy ended screaming. But Natsu was already off in his own world.

"Too late you promised. We're gonna feast!"

Lucy sighed; she was going to regret that. Lucy stared down at her hand which Natsu was still gripping, tugging her towards the forest. Before she could stop it she felt heat rush to her cheeks. Okay, maybe it _was_ worth it.

The forest was both unbelievingly huge and unbelievably dense. To add on to it, it was hot. Two hours in and Lucy was already getting dizzy. Lucy sat down on a rock and tugged on Natsu's pants to signal him to stop, not trusting herself to not slur her words. Lucy took a swig of water and tried to steady her vision. It worked relatively well and she stood back up before she could change her mind but feeling tired again she ended up sitting again, cursing at herself. Just a couple more minutes she thought to herself.

Natsu kept glancing back at Lucy. She was looking worse for wear and it had only been a couple of hours, was this really a good idea? He had made the excuse of wanting to finish fast to go get the food Lucy had promised, and though that was part of the reason, mainly he didn't want Lucy pushing herself more than she had to.

Natsu glanced back at her to see Lucy shading her eyes with her hair, her breathing slightly ragged. He felt the need to say _something_.

"Hey Lucy, are you feeling alright, you seem…tired lately." He paused for a moment then decided that might be too vague.

"Has that training you started recently taken a toll on you?"

Lucy didn't really think so, but then thought about it for a bit, she may not seem like it but she was a harsh trainer, especially when it came to herself. She may have overworked herself slightly.

During a mission to capture a gang of thieves (gathering members to start a dark guild) she had to face some cloaked magician and she barely managed to scrape by. In the end Natsu finished his portion early and came to save Lucy. However, the damage to her pride was done and she wanted to train so she could at least take care of herself.

Had she crossed a line in her training and pushed herself to hard and caused some unknown collateral damage? She sighed and looked up towards Natsu.

"Yea, maybe you're right." She stated.

Natsu stared at her a bit longer; he never quite understood why Lucy started training. Lucy seemed fine the way she was to him. He had offered to help, but she refused. And with her around the guild less and less he became slightly… lonely, though he'd never admit it.

Lucy stood back up, slightly slowly. She stumbled a bit and cursed under her breath, hoping Natsu wasn't looking at her. If he thought she was still dizzy he might want to quit the job and she needed the money.

Natsu saw Lucy stumble and noticed how she obviously was hoping he hadn't seen that. Natsu pretended not to look but picked up Lucy's bag.

"If you're tired enough to stop then I should be carrying your bag." Natsu stated like it was obvious. Lucy gave a sigh of relief.

"Okay." Lucy smiled she wasn't going to turn down that offer, she probably needed it anyway.

Natsu gave a pout; he was doing too much thinking and worrying today. When they got back and feasted he was going to smile and laugh and get to be his usual airhead self again. It stressed him out to keep going on like this.

They began wandering again and a few minutes passed, then an hour. Lucy was panting again.

"Ugh, where is this freaking plant!" Lucy cried out, wanting to go back already, she wasn't even sure she knew the way anymore, but she knew Natsu certain did. Especially since food was on the line.

Natsu snickered but his face showed he agreed with her.

"Maybe it's hiding from you Luce." Natsu joked. Lucy shot Natsu a glare and Lucy stomped a few paces ahead. Too bad for her she wasn't paying attention and walked right off a cliff covered and brush.

She began screaming as she fell.

"LUCYYY!" Natsu called, panicking. He looked over the edge and swiftly decided to jump after her.

Natsu managed to grab Lucy mid-decent and tried shooting fire from his feet to slow their fall. Unfortunately they both hit the ground roughly, Lucy somehow ending up on top of Natsu, her faced shoved into the ground. They both groaned in pain and Lucy looked up.

And staring her right in the face was the very plant that had been the thorn in their side.

Lucy was gaping at it and double checked to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Natsu!" She shouted. "Natsu, we found it, the herbs are here."

At this Natsu shot up and they both did a silly dance with each other.

"Yataaaa!" They both cheered while high-fiving.  
(Please read A.N.)

* * *

**IMPORTANT READ: So no, this is not what I had in mind for my big surprise. In fact, I am here to announce that this story will be going on a short hiatus, which is why I tried not to leave anything seeming like a cliff hanger. Something has come up that I'll have to deal with. On top of that school has started. I didn't want to just put in an A.N. and get you excited about a new chapter so I hauled just to get this one done. Never the less you see how long just this took. I WILL NOT, I repeat, WILL NOT leave this story incomplete. It would go against everything I believe in. But I don't want to add to my stress right now. I sincerely apologize, but something had to give, which is quite ironic because writing is quite relaxing for me.**

**I will come back to finish this and I'll come back with a vengeance. So I ask you from the bottom of my heart, please wait for me. I know how annoying waiting for a story can be but I'll be back as soon as I can. I didn't even have my editor look at this because I wanted it up ASAP (so sorry for any issues).Thank you to everyone.**

**~Airka-chan**

**P.S.: This may or may not be the last chapter for me to respond to all comments. However know I do read your comments and will most likely PM you a thank you and my response.  
^.^ Ja-ne minna**

**Celtika82: Thanks for the compliment. I hope I'm not letting you down too much by making you wait. T.T Btw I like your take on the relationships, I make sure to play them out and you can see if you were correct. ^.^**

**Soma1548: Oh, thank you for being soo understanding, I feel like I'm letting you down. I always love people who like what I do but are sincere enough to correct me if I screw up. I hope to be seeing you around soma. ^.^**

**Mimichan55: Thank you for your kind words. I know, isn't it sad that Lucy has NOO family, which was kind of changed here. Yes, I have decided on a role for Erza, I'm sorry you won't get to see her anytime soon. And once again I'm making you wait, sorry for being a bad example. Hope to hear from you soon Mimichan. ^.^**

**Perfect Hope: Yea, it has been awhile hasn't it? Sorry, thank you for your kind words though. I hope to see you soon though.**

** 08: I love your name by the way. Did I say that before? I know I thought it at some point. Yume being dream and all (I have it in my name too.) Hikari is light right? Or something like it. Anyway I'm glad for your faith in Natsu. Did you like the chapter at all, or was it rushed. Well I hope you liked it. Hope to see you soon.**


	9. Chapter 9: Speed Up

Lucy would have started crying tears of joy at the sight of that plant if she hadn't thought she'd probably look like an idiot for doing so.

After their silly dance together, Natsu and Lucy began gathering the herbs in a basket Lucy had brought. Things were going so smoothly. It's always the most quiet before a storm they say. It literally was this time. A loud crash of thunder echoed through Natsu and Lucy's bones, the vibrations being felt in their joints. They both turned their attention towards the sky which had turned inexplicably dark.

First one drop fell, then another, soon it was a down pour. Natsu and Lucy ran out of the clearing to some nearby trees, becoming soaked despite their efforts.

"Where did this come from?!" Lucy shouted over the rain. Natsu looked at her and shrugged.

In his mind Natsu was thinking too many things for him to process. _Would it clear up? Would this make Lucy worse? Should they wait it out or head back?_

Natsu seemed to be spacing and Lucy didn't have time for this. She grabbed Natsu's wrist and headed for a tall dense tree covering most of the rain above it. She found a rock to sit on and dug around in her pack for the towel she brought to wipe her sweat.

As she was wringing out one of her ponytails she shivered, _crap_, she thought. She was getting cold, like the shadows were creeping up on her. The one shiver turned into a fit and she couldn't stop herself_. Crap, crap, crap_, she continued in thought hoping it would stop before Natsu snapped out of his daze.

Too late, Natsu realized that he had somehow moved somewhere dry, this was good. Just like Lucy to do something while he was being stupid. He turned to look at her only to see a ball of what Lucy should be shaking like crazy. It looked almost like she was having a seizure.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Natsu questioned, panicked.

"F-f-fine." Lucy cursed herself for stuttering, but found herself caring less and less as her rapid shaking was tiring her out. All the involuntary movements were taking a toll on her and she could feel her eye's drooping.

Natsu, obviously not satisfied went to take off his scarf and vest to drape over her only to notice those were also soaking wet.

"Lucy you need to get out of those clothes." Natsu insisted as he began wringing out his own, aside from his pants, and drying them with his hand.

Just then what he said sunk in and his face turned two shades darker than his hair as he turned away.

"I-I I didn't m-mean, um, I'm going to start a fire." Natsu walked a few feet away quickly picking up twigs he could light, as well as some stones. He made a circle with the stones and threw the twigs in. Lighting the fire next to Lucy, he put his clothes near it on top of his bag. By now he regained some semblance of composure and tried to sneak a glance at Lucy, who still looked dumb struck. He glanced away, feeling embarrassed when all the sudden he turned to the sound of a giggle, which turned to a whole hearted laugh. Lucy was now on the ground laughing hysterically.

"That's the Natsu I know." She stated as her laughing fit died down. _The Natsu I love_, she added in her head.

Natsu, feeling better now, gave her a toothy grin. "Haha thanks, Luce." He beamed. Lucy returned the smile. Her heart began to flutter, she had a chance again. _Now or never,_ she told herself.

"Hey, N-Natsu…" Lucy began. Natsu perked his ears at his name, and turned his full attention to Lucy.

"Yeah?" He questioned, signaling for her to continue. This somehow seemed familiar, his mind quickly flashed to the Hani festival…_oh, that's when_, he thought. He never did get to hear what she had to say, he was curious.

"Natsu, I um, I…L-" Lucy was cut short by a particularly loud round of thunder and she began to shiver again, more severely than before, it felt like something was approaching.

The loudest thunder yet sounded then then their entire makeshift camp was surrounded in shadows. Lucy's shivers caused her to drop to the ground, it was pretty much a seizure now Lucy having little to no control as her body attempted to compensate for some unknown spike of cold. Natsu was shivering too, albeit less noticeably than Lucy as he tried to heat himself up with fire while headed to where Lucy had fallen shouting her name.

"LUCY!" He called trying to shake her out of it. A cloaked man stepped from the shadows and Lucy tried to a position where he would be more visible from her spot. Since it was not working very well, Lucy focused her attention on settling her body as her previous convulsions became slight tremors. She stood shakily with the help of Natsu to stare at the new guest.

"Who are you?" Natsu called as Lucy steadied herself. He hissed in response, that's right _hissed_. Lucy stared at him bewildered, _freaking snake_, she thought to herself. She thought it all seemed familiar but shook it off and tried to read the man in front of them.

He turned his gaze towards Lucy and what seemed to be glowing red eyes meet with her own brown ones. Without any warning he charged at the two giving Natsu a firm kick that sent him flying a few yards, tumbling in the dirt. In the meantime Lucy had reached for one of the sticks in the fire it being the closest thing to a weapon anywhere near her. She had left her whip and keys on her bag which was roughly ten feet away.

She had managed to grab the cooler end of the stick, though it still seared her skin, and the tip was glowing a dangerous hue of red.

She took a swing at the cloak, angry that he had just sent Natsu flying. Not expecting it however to glide right through the figure. Shocked and disappointed, Lucy dropped the stick because if it wasn't going to be any help, it definitely wasn't worth getting burned for. Unfazed Lucy trying to follow up with a kick dropping her hands to the ground to put more power in it but was stopped when the shadow made a grab for her neck. Lucy pushed off the hands she had dropped and flipped backwards to get in another fighting stance (Looks like all that extra training paid off). Her pack was too far away to make a grab for and it seemed there was barrier blocking it anyway. Lucy hadn't trained much in hand-to hand combat but no way was she just going to go down without fighting. Lucy dodged the further attempts at grabbing her as she tried to form a sort of plan.

She thought back to the couple of basic martial arts sessions she had done with Leo. She breathed and when the cloak made a frustrated lunge at her she made a stance for an absorbing block and used the cloak's own momentum against it as she made a chop towards its neck. The contact sent shivers down her spine and she paced back quickly.

In an awkward position, Lucy was forced into a backbend, as he made a grab for her face again, in which she kicked off and made clean contact with the man with her kick and flipped over to steady herself again but became slightly unbalanced on the ground that had turned to mush from rain water. Taking the chance the cloak went for her neck this time, shoving her against the tree behind her (or maybe it didn't pay off). Lucy cursed.

By this time, (though it had only been a few seconds) Natsu had gathered himself and was trying to make a run for the mysterious man when he ran into what seemed to be some form of magical barrier he started conjuring fists of fire trying to break through to get to Lucy who had been putting up a good fight but was now pinned to a tree at this point.

"Luuuccccy Heartffffilia…" It hissed.

Both Natsu and Lucy stiffened at the sound of her name.

The claws this guy probably called nails began digging into the back of Lucy's neck and Lucy began squirming again as she was losing air…fast.

"Luuuccccy Heartffffilia…" It repeated "…you will die."

At that, time seemed to stop, Natsu paled and Lucy's eyes widened.

The figure leaned closer to Lucy, "I have delivered my messsssege, and you have two weekssss time." He hissed barely audible to even Lucy whose ear was inches from his mouth.

Lucy didn't even bother to hide the tears that streamed down her cheeks as her eyes remained widened. The figure began dissipating into vapor that drifted towards Lucy then disappeared completely. Lucy fell to the ground and found she couldn't pick herself up. Exhaustion hit her body and she vaguely heard Natsu calling her name as she blacked out, the rain falling hard enough to even make it through the dense trees. Fitting for the dark news she had just been delivered. Before her consciousness completely faded Lucy had one thought consuming all. Apparently the time to tell him was never, the world just doesn't like her this week.

* * *

**Hey-o, sooo how was that? Aren't you glad I didn't leave you with that cliff hanger before going on Hiatus? Yes, I'm back, though the updates might be slightly sporadic they should be about weekly now; don't kill me if they aren't. Also, how'd you think I did on the action scene? For all that I revised it I still don't like it that much, however yes, I did give Lucy a bit of a spotlight (for lack of a better word because I feel compelled not to curse in this particular fanfic). She never gets it in the show/manga so I figured she should get a chance to prove herself (at least in my fanfic). **

**Also, BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, I will be speeding up the plot to an extremely ridiculous extent from what I originally planned (hints the chapter name speed up). Whether you notice of not, I am doing this for two reasons. ONE, so I don't keep you guys waiting so much on what I had originally planned. And TWO, so I don't get bored with the story by putting major events together.**

**Lastly, I know I said that I probably wouldn't reply to your reviews, but it feels wrong not to. So, though they may be shorter I hope you guys are okay with me keeping responses. *Note: I'm only going to respond to replies left on the last chapter I wrote.**

**Ja ne ^.^**

**~Airka-chan**

**youdontknow: Haha here ya go. ^.^**

**Mimichan: Though we have been PMing I feel the need to at least write a thank you here. Thanks! ^.^**

**Dallas.n05: Oh thanks so much *hugs* sorry, I'm an emotional person; hopefully I'll be able to juggle life and this. Here's the chapter hope I'm here to stay.**

**Celtika82: Thanks for your support, though you don't know me very well. I am a person who lives by my word and only breaks it if necessary. I promise I won't abandon this story. ^.^ It's just too unlike me to leave things unfinished.**

** 08: Yay! I LOVE it when people tell me specific things they like about the story, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I didn't know Hikari was from Pokemon, haven't watched since the original. And yes really, really, love the name. Lastly, glad you liked that Nalu moment with the fireworks, I kept retyping it. I was like nope, ehh, I NEED MORE FLUFF HERE! Haha, point is it took me a while before I really liked it. However, this chapter was also a bit of a game changer, any thoughts on it?**


End file.
